Never lost
Pharisee’s believed in the Resurrection, Sadducee’s didn’t… that’s why they’re sad, you see? The two groups did not agree on much… but they did agree on one thing: That radical heretic from Nazareth had to be silenced.
Yes, to the establishment, Jesus was a heretic.
My point is, being a heretic is not necessarily a bad thing. Heresy simply means you are not in alignment with the established teachings. Martin Luther was the heretic who nailed his 95 Thesis to the Wittenberg Door. In fact, how many factions of Christianity were started by a heresy? Um, all of them!
The degree of heresy is the measure of tolerance.
The frog in the kettle analogy is usually used when the established “powers that be” have a low tolerance of heresy. As the story goes, because frogs are not warm blooded, their body temperature is dependent on the ambient temperature. If you put them in a kettle of hot water, they will jump right out… but, if you put them in a kettle and warm the water slowly, they will not notice and jump out when it gets too hot. They will simply perish in the frog stew. The analogy is, if you allow a slight disagreement, the congregation will tolerate and acclimate to it. If enough small disagreements occur over time, a large change in belief will occur, eventually eliminating the original teaching. The followers will fry in hell without realizing it.
This is why a feedback loop is needed.
Continuous feedback of introspection and interaction (discussion) will help correct any drift. Plus correct an origin fallacy if needed. My argument has always been to constantly question everything in case you have been following a false premise.
Our daily use of GPS is a wonderful example.
The GPS constantly updates your known position in relation to your destination. The newer guidance systems will include data of current traffic and readjust to provide the quickest route. You can set the system up to avoid toll roads and freeways if you prefer. You can use the system to provide walking routes, public transportation routes, etc. But, in order for the system to work, you must be in constant contact with the satellites. If you don’t have feedback from at least two of the satellites, there is no way of knowing where you are. The system will fail. More than two satellites provide better accuracy. Triangulation and error correction are constantly updated.
This is the same with your daily spiritual walk. If you are not connected, you are lost. If you are only connected to one source, you are lost.
Introspection AND Interaction are two sources to begin with…
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